November 25, 2012

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SERMON:

If
you look through the history books for great kingdoms, you'll find a lot of
them. But most historians agree that the reigning champ of human empires was the
Roman Empire, which lasted almost 1,500 years.

One
unique thing about the Roman Empire was that it didn't start out as a
"kingdom" at all. In the beginning, the Romans had no king. In fact,
they didn't want one supreme monarch that could boss them around. They
preferred the self-rule of a Republic.

Now,
the Romans recognized that every once in a while a something might happen which
would require decisions to be made faster than a senate could make them. So,
they made a special office called the Dictator. When their lands were
threatened by some foreign invader or some other quickly developing challenge,
the senate could vote one man to be the "Dictator". He would have
supreme power, like a king, but would only have that power for a single year.

If
a dictator decided to use this supreme power to enrich himself instead of
defending the country, when the year rolled around and his office expired, he
was in for some serious life changes.

Of
course, it didn't take long for power hungry men to find a way to extend their
reign as dictator. Eventually, the Roman Empire was ruled by a succession of
kings. They might have called themselves "Caesars" and "servants
of the people" but that was just wrangling with words. Some were good,
protecting and enriching Rome. Some were bad, ignoring the important affairs of
state and wallowing in self indulgence. But either way, they were kings—exercising
supreme power over their subjects.

▬

The
Bible says that all human authorities are given their authority by God. That's
right, every president, senator and governor in America has gained their
position as a gift from God. When some people hear this they assume that God
must therefore approve all the policies and decisions made by the rulers He has
placed in authority. But actually, the opposite is true. When a person is given
great earthly power, they are held accountable for their policies and actions
by God Himself. After all, it is His borrowed power they hold. He expects them
to use it according to His will.

God
desires that kings and presidents and prime ministers protect their citizens,
enrich their lives, provide for them in times of need, settle disputes between
citizens, and maintain the peace as much as possible in this sinful world. In
short, God expects authorities to serve their country, in His name, instead of
serving themselves. (see Romans 13).

▬

Our
Bible reading for today calls Jesus Christ the "ruler of the kings of the
earth". It says that He is, the "King of kings". Jesus is
different than all others kings though. He is not just one more human authority
exercising power lent by God. The Bible shows that in every way, Jesus
Christ is a king superior to all others.

Revelation
1:4-8 (NASB)

4John to the seven churches that are in
Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come,
and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,

5 and
from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler
of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by
His blood—

6 and
He has made us to be a kingdom,
priests to His God and Father—to Him be the
glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

7 Behold, He
is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who
pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to
be. Amen.

8 “I
am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is
to come, the Almighty.”

▬

Now,
there is a lot of information packed into this little section of God's Word.
But I'm not going to try and cover it all in our meditation today. Instead I'm
going to focus on the parts that teach us about Christ the King.

Verse
five begins by telling us who put Jesus on His
throne. It does this by calling Him "Christ". Christians use the
title, "Jesus Christ" so much that it seems like "Christ"
is just His last name. But it's actually the title of His office. The word "Christ"
means "anointed one", the one "selected" for the kingship.

In
the history of Rome, Caesars gained their positions by all sorts of different
intrigues and bribes. There was one time when the Praetorian guards actually
sold the kingship off to the highest bidder. The Praetorians were the
"royal bodyguards" of the Caesars. But in this case they actually
murdered the reigning Caesar and then auctioned off the position to the man who
promised to raise their wages the highest.

When
it comes to Christ the King there was no power grab or no auction for
authority. There was no assassination or bribing of senators to gain this
supreme position. God the Father selected His eternal Son to be the Savior of
all sinners and the King of all kings.

▬

Verse
five also calls Jesus "the faithful witness".
This reminds us of one major reason why Jesus came to earth. He came to teach
the people about His Father's promise, and about His Father's character. In the
book of John Jesus says...

"...My
teaching is not mine, but his who sent me" (John 7:16 ESV).

In
the book of Hebrews it says...

"3 The
Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his
being," (Hebrews 1:3 NIV).

During
His earthly ministry in Palestine, Jesus traveled from city to city showing the
people what His Heavenly Father was like through the gracious miracles of
healing that He performed. He also taught them point by point what the Father's
will was. The Father's will was that all sinners would trust in the Son as
their Savior. That they would see His sacrificial death on the cross and
believe that in that offering, their sins were paid for.

God
holy, so He cannot just excuse our evils. But God is also loving, so He has
provided a way for our sins to be erased from the record books. God is holy and
almighty, but also—loving. That was Jesus' message.

Some
of the Roman Caesars decorated their office with horrible sins. They murdered,
they fornicated, they encouraged idol worship. Christ on the other hand didn't
pile up sins through His ministry. He did the opposite. He lived a sinless
life, and used that perfect life to erase the people's sins, and to do away
with the punishment that was heading our way.

The
reign of many a Caesar was ended when his crimes against the people had piled
up too tall, and the people assassinated him. And that was that. Death brought
an end to their reign.

But
with Christ the King things were different. Verse five calls Jesus the
"firstborn of the dead". After Jesus offered His sinless soul on the
cross of Calvary, suffering the hell that we all deserve, His heavenly Father
raised Jesus back to life. He was the first human being to be raised from the
dead to a glorified state. He is still human, with body and soul just like us,
but He has been glorified. No more does He suffer and refrain from using His
powers as the Eternal Son of God. He is the firstborn from the dead.

The
book of Romans calls Jesus...

"...the
firstborn among many brothers" (Romans 8:29 ESV).

Through
faith in Christ Jesus, you and I become His brothers and sisters. Part of the
holy family of God. And we are given the promise that not only are our sins
forgiven right now, we will one day experience a bodily resurrection and a glorification
like He did. No more will we feel pain and sadness and sin. We will stand in
glory with our Brother the resurrected King of kings in heaven.

▬

And
until the last day comes when all will stand before God, we have Christ ruling
over us right now. He rules in our hearts by faith, and He also rules over the
earthly authorities that govern our daily lives. Verse five calls Jesus
the "ruler of the kings of the earth".

There's
an interesting verse in the book of Proverbs that says,

"The
king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will" (Proverbs 21:1 ESV).

Christians
sometimes get all up in arms when the candidate that they voted for doesn't get
elected. As if somehow God lost the election. But this proverb reminds us that
the same God who grants authority, can also move those in authority to make
decisions that bring great blessings into the lives of His followers.

▬

While
the Caesars of Rome often reigned with their own interests in mind, Christ the
King reigns our lives with our best interests in mind. But Christ doesn't reign
with the limited foresight of any earthly ruler. He's not merely interested in
increasing our bank account or our pile of possessions. He's interested in drawing
us spiritually closer to Himself and to His almighty Father. Closer in
relationship with the LORD.

This
is the King that we have. Christ Jesus, anointed as our King by God the Father.
Christ Jesus, the faithful witness that teaches us about the Father's will, and
about the salvation He has provided through the cross. This is the King that we
have. Christ Jesus, the one who moves kings and kingdoms, governments and
authorities to benefit the spread of His Kingdom of faith and salvation.

The
apostle John gets all carried away with these thoughts toward the end of verse
five and erupts in praise of our King. He says...

"To Him who loves us and released us from
our sins by His blood—and He has made us to
be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen" (Revelation
1:5-6 NASB).

In
the ranking of great kingdoms of the world, historians rarely include the
Kingdom of Christ. I suppose that might be because historians are not all
Christians. Or maybe it's because the Kingdom of Christ cannot be measured so
easily as the area of land that has been conquered by an earthly king. But the truth
of the matter is that Christ's Kingdom has extended from the beginning of the
world until this very day. Christ's subjects have stood on every soil. Citizens
of His kingdom hail from every nation, tribe and language.

In
ancient years Christ ruled in the hearts and lives of people who looked forward
to His birth. Then He ruled in the hearts and lives of people who heard that He
was born in Bethlehem. And He still rules today, in the hearts of all who
rejoice in His birth, suffering, death and resurrection—which bring us
forgiveness, peace and a place in His eternal Kingdom.

▬

In
so many ways, the Bible shows that Christ is a King superior to all others. But
there's one aspect of Christ's reign that seems to get in the way of people
hailing Him as King. He's not visible.

When
the king goes away, people have the tendency to forget He's still the king.
Even though Christ Jesus promised to return visibly to the earth one day,
people easily dismiss this promise. Out of sight, out of mind it seems.

And
that's why we gather together to worship Him. Though He is not visible, we know
He still reigns. Though He does not speak to us with audible words from the
sky, He still speaks through the treasury of His Word found in the Bible. Let
us continue to come back to the Bible to see our King. To hear of His past
victories. To hear of His promises fulfilled, and His promises that are still
coming to be.

Let
us remember that Christ is the perfect King. That He will return with power and
glory to begin His visible reign. That He will gather His people and scatter
His enemies once and for all. And let us also keep firmly in mind, Christ Jesus
is no mere mortal. Human yes, but Christ is also the Alpha and the Omega, the
beginning and the end, the Almighty God.

And
most of all, let us keep in mind that through faith, Christ is OUR King. Grace
and peace be to you, from Him who is and who was and who is to come. To Him be
the glory and the dominion, in our hearts and otherwise, forever and ever.

Amen!

The
peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds
in Christ Jesus.

November 22, 2012

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SERMON:

For our sermon mediation today we're going to do a bit of a character study. We're going to examine one of the most famous people from the Old Testament and see what we can learn from him. The man we'll be studying is Jacob.

▬

If you read much in the Old Testament you're familiar with the phrase, "the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob". This is what the LORD calls himself from time to time.

Jacob had twelve sons who became the twelve tribes making up the nation of Israel. Jacob was remembered by his descendants as a faithful follower of the LORD. But he sure didn't start out that way.

Sometimes we think of Bible heroes like they were born pre-packaged with great wisdom and a rich faith. This isn't the case. When we read the Bible, we discover that our heroes started off as ordinary sinners. This is definitely the case with Jacob. Jacob's early life was all about bad choices.

▬

Jacob was the younger of two twin brothers born to Isaac and Rebekah. His twin brother Esau was the manly man of the two. Esau was born with a reddish completion and with hair all his body. He grew into a good hunter who spent lots of time out in the wild. Esau was dad's favorite.

Jacob, on the other hand, was the smooth skinned and tender homebody. Mom's favorite.

▬

But from early on, Jacob showed that although he was the younger, softer brother, he was more than ready to take advantage of his older brother when the opportunity arose. One time when Esau returned from the country, exhausted and hungry, he found Jacob tending a pot of stew. When the super hungry Esau asked for something to eat, Jacob made him promise to give up his birthright first.

The birthright was a big deal back then. It meant twice the inheritance than any other son. Esau stupidly made trade, birthright for soup, but it was Jacob who was doing the manipulating and stealing.

Jacob's choices only got worse from here. Another custom of the day was for the father to give a special blessing to one of his sons. This blessing was like a prayer that God would give special things, identified in the prayer, to the one son whom the father chose.

Isaac decided that he was getting old and should give this special blessing to Esau before he died. So, Isaac told his son Esau to go and hunt some game, and make him his favorite meal. Then, after Isaac had received the meal, he would give the blessing to Esau.

When mom heard about what dad intended to do, she cooked up a plan to make sure Jacob got this blessing instead. She had Jacob dress up in Esau's clothes, complete with hairy gauntlets on his arms just incase the blind old Isaac should get wise and decide to make sure he was giving his blessing to the right son.

It was mom's trickery, but Jacob didn't argue. He went along with the whole thing, lying though his teeth to his father. Not only did Jacob lie to his father, he even used the name of God to do it.

Here's how it happened. Shortly after Esau had gone out to hunt, Jacob showed up in costume, with a special meal for dad. When Isaac asked how it was possible that he could be back so soon from the hunt, the disguised Jacob told him,

"Because the LORD your God granted me success" (Genesis 27:20 ESV).

This wasn't exactly Jacob's shining moment: Using the LORD's name to lie to his father in order to steal Esau's blessing. And what's even more surprising is what is revealed by his words. When speaking to Isaac, Jacob calls the LORD, "your God", not his own God.

▬

The world we live in is filled with sadness and evil. And some of the sadness and evil we experience comes directly from our own choices. That's kinda a summary of Jacob's early life—bad choices that led to bad consequences.

Not only did Jacob risk alienating himself from his father by this whole charade, he also brought the anger of his brother Esau down on his head.

When Esau found out that Jacob had now stolen his special blessing as well as his birthright, Esau was enraged. He decided that as soon as dad was in the grave, he was going to put Jacob in the ground as well.

Thankfully, mom got wind of Esau's murderous plan and had Jacob sent off to her brother Laban's house. The idea was for Jacob to lie low at uncle Laban's place for as long as it took for Esau's anger to simmer down.

So, off Jacob went with only the clothes on his back and a staff in his hand.

▬

Along the way to Laban's house, the LORD stepped into Jacob's life in a big way. While Jacob was sleeping out in the open air, the LORD sent him a vision of a huge staircase reaching into heaven, with angels ascending and descending on it. At the top of the staircase stood the LORD. And this is what He said to Jacob:

"I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. 14 Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." (Genesis 28:13-15 ESV).

When Jacob woke up in the morning, he made a deal with the LORD. He said...

"If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21 so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you." (Genesis 28:20-22 ESV).

There's something kinda pathetic about Jacob's vow here. Sure, he was running from his brother who planned to murder him. Sure, he didn't have anything other than what he could carry on his back. But doesn't he sell the almighty God a little short with his request? "God, give me clothes and food and safe travel and you'll be MY God. I'll even give you a tenth of everything you give to me." What a deal for God.

So, Jacob continued on and reached his uncle Laban's land. There he fell in love with one of Laban's daughters, Rachel. And that's when the next batch of trouble in Jacob's life began.

▬

Among all the bad things that happen in our lives, some of them aren't actually our fault. Some of the sadness and evil we experience is from the bad choices of others.

Jacob's uncle Laban wasn't exactly a standup guy. In Jacob he saw an opportunity to get some free labor. So, when Jacob offered to work for seven years tending Laban's flocks for the right to marry his daughter Rachel, Laban quickly agreed. But on the night of Jacob's marriage, he sent his younger daughter Leah into the marriage tent instead.

In the morning, Jacob found that if he wanted to marry Rachel too, he'd have to work for another seven years. So, that's what he did.

But that wasn't the end of uncle Laban's underhanded dealing with Jacob. Over the years that Jacob worked for his uncle, Laban changed his wages ten different times. No doubt, each change was in the best interests of Laban, not Jacob. "This year it looks like the flocks are having mostly clean white lambs. I guess that means Jacob's pay will be the spotted ones".

But the LORD saw what was going on, and made sure that Jacob's flocks and herds increased anyway. Along the way Jacob's family grew as well. Nine sons were born and a daughter named Dinah. Before long, Jacob's family and his servants were a pretty big crowd.

And it was at this time that the LORD spoke to Jacob again. He told Jacob it was time to go back home to his homeland. So, Jacob gathered all his family and started back on the path he had traveled years ago.

▬

But there was one problem still ahead. Esau. Had his anger evaporated? Or had he grown more bitter over the years of Jacob's absence? Jacob had no way of knowing. So he sent messengers ahead to tell Esau that the long-gone-Jacob was returning with flocks, herds, and servants.

When the messengers returned they had bad news. Esau was headed this way, along with four hundred men. This didn't look good.

Jacob was terrified. So, he did the only thing he could think to do. First, he divided his group into two camps, reasoning that if Esau came and attacked, perhaps one group would escape. It all looked pretty grim.

Secondly, Jacob prayed. And in Jacob's prayer we learn where all this history led Jacob's heart. This is what Jacob prayed to God.

Genesis 32:9-12 (ESV)

9 And Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good,’ 10 I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. 11 Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. 12 But you said, ‘I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’ ”

▬

Jacob experienced a lot of bad things in his life. Some were the result of his own stupidity and bad choices. Some were the result of the choices of others. But when Jacob looked back over his life as he prepared to meet his angry brother, he didn't complain to God. Instead, Jacob saw that among the bad things there had been an abundance of good things. Jacob recognized that these good things were from the LORD. And with a clear eye and an honest heart, Jacob admitted that he hadn't earned or deserved any of these things. Jacob saw God's goodness and generosity in action and was thankful. And with a troubled, but thankful heart, Jacob prayed for God's help, holding onto the promise of safety that God had made specifically to him.

▬

You and I can do the same on this Thanksgiving Day. We can look back over our lives. Lives full of bad, but sprinkled in among the bad, much good from the LORD. We can focus on these good things with a thankful heart. And we can hold onto the promise of safety that God has given us in Christ Jesus.

Come what may in this life, Christ Jesus is our Savior. He suffered and died on the cross of Calvary so that our sins stand forgiven before the eternal throne of God. Because of what Christ did for us, God's promise to each of us is this: After a life watched over by our heavenly Father, we will find forgiveness, peace and eternal safety in heaven.

Jacob teaches us to see clearly that bad comes from within, and from without, but all good things come from above. Like it says in the book of James...

"Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow" (James 1:17 NASB).

May our hearts sing out this Thanksgiving day, and always, with the hymn that says...

"For the fruit of his creation, Thanks be to God.

For his gifts to ev'ry nation, Thanks be to God.

For the plowing, sowing, reaping,

Silent growth while we are sleeping,

Future needs in earth's safekeeping, Thanks be to God.

For the harvests of the Spirit, Thanks be to God.

For the good we all inherit, Thanks be to God.

For the wonders that astound us,

For the truths that still confound us,

Most of all that Love has found us, Thanks be to God."

-Christian Worship 611.

Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus.

November 18, 2012

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SERMON:

At
our house we do the dishes from the right to the left. They pile up on the
counter to the right of the kitchen sink. They get washed in the sink, and then
they drain and dry to the left, in the dish rack. Exciting stuff, I know.

My
wife works nights a few days a week, so the job of fighting the on-going battle
again dirty dishes often falls to me. I get the kids supper, jammies, brush
teeth, devotion time, off to bed, and then I finish the night with a skirmish
or two against the flatware and the pots and pans.

Now,
I might be telling you more than my wife wants you to know here, but sometimes
the dishes have the opportunity to build up their ranks a bit before I initiate
a battle. Sometimes I have to fight a two fronted war with dishes on more than
one counter.

And
that's what makes it so great when I come home and find that someone has
already done my work for me. Call it a simple joy in life, but all it takes to
make my night is to come home and find the counter next to the sink empty.
Wiped clean and clear.

Maybe
you've had this same feeling somewhere else. You had some big task or project
that needed to get done, and when you finally rolled up your sleeves and
decided to get to work, you found that the job had already been done.

It's
this feeling of relief, rest, and peace that the writer to the Hebrews presents
for us today. Only it isn't the relief of finding a counter clean or some other
mundane task completed. In our reading for today the writer to the Hebrews
tells us that in Christ, all our foul sins have been washed clean away,
forever.

Hebrews
10:11-18 (ESV)

11 And
every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same
sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a
single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that
time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single
offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

15 And
the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,

16 “This is the covenant that I will make with
them

after those days, declares the Lord:

I will put my laws on their hearts,

and write them on their minds,”

17 then
he adds,

“I will remember their sins and their
lawless deeds no more.”

18 Where
there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

▬

Now,
we don't know for sure who wrote the letter to the Hebrews. That's why we just
call him "the writer to the Hebrews". But we do know that he wrote
this letter to Jewish Christians. They were Jewish by birth, but Christians by
faith.

Because
the book of Hebrews talks so much about the Temple, the priests, and the
sacrifices that went on in the Temple, we think that this letter was probably
written to Jewish Christians who were living in the city of Jerusalem before it
was destroyed by Roman forces in 70 AD.

Christians
living in Jerusalem at this time would have been very familiar with the concept
of offering sacrifices at the Temple. Even if nobody came to the Temple there
would have been sacrifices offered every day. One lamb in the morning, and one
in the evening at least. But there were pilgrims coming daily to the Temple.
And during festival weeks Jerusalem was practically overrun with worshipers
coming to the Temple to offer the sacrifices prescribed in the Old Testament.

It's
this picture of busyness that the writer to the Hebrews compares to Christ. He
says...

"11 And every priest
stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can
never take away sins. 12 But
when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down
at the right hand of God, 13 waiting
from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet"
(Hebrews 10:11-13 ESV).

The
job of the Old Testament priesthood was to do all the things that God had Moses
write down. Their job was to offer sacrifice, after sacrifice, after sacrifice
on behalf of the people. There were burnt offerings, sin offerings, peace
offerings, fellowship offerings, grain offerings, and on and on. There were
festivals throughout the year that God had set up for the priests to carry out,
and for the people to attend.

And
like the writer to the Hebrews points out, none of these rituals actually had
the power to really remove sins. The rituals were important. God Himself had
commanded they be done. But these rituals only had value in two ways.

First
of all, these rituals were a way that followers of the LORD could outwardly
express their trust in Him. In fact, none of these offerings had any power if
they weren't done out of faith in the God who commanded them.

The
prophets who came at the end of the Old Testament period, right before Christ
came, criticized the people of Israel harshly because they were bringing
offerings without faith. They brought the right offerings, but their lives
showed they had no faith in God.

They
indulged in sinful activities. They cheated their neighbors. They sacrificed to
other gods besides the LORD. And so when they brought their offerings to the
LORD's Temple, God wasn't pleased at all. These weren't the heartfelt actions
of a people who trusted in God's promises. These were the actions of a people
covering all the bases. Offering one more sacrifice to one more god. Or they
were the actions of a people who wanted to look holy to their neighbors.

Again,
the offerings of the Temple only had value when they were a genuine expression
of trust in Jehovah God. Trust in all He had promised, and ultimately, trust in
the greatest promise He had made - to send the world a savior who would take away
their sins and open up the way to heaven for all sinners.

▬

The
second way the Temple sacrifices were valuable was as a picture of the Savior
to come. Every time the life of some animal was taken, and it's blood poured
out on behalf of some worshipper, God was pointing forward to the sacrifice His
one and only Son would offer on the cross. That would be the only sacrifice
that would actually count.

The
writer to the Hebrews says...

"12 But when Christ had
offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand
of God, 13 waiting
from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single
offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified" (Hebrews
10:12-14 ESV).

What
a contrast. The priests were endlessly busy with their sacrifices. But when the
real deal came along, Christ Jesus offered Himself, once and for all, and it
was done. By His suffering and death all our debt of sin was atoned for.

Look
closely at verse 14. It says, "by a single offering he has perfected
for all time those who are being sanctified". That word
"perfected" means "to complete", "to finish",
like putting in the last piece of a puzzle that then stands whole and complete.

Jesus
Himself used the same word when He said, "It is finished" from the
cross of Calvary. His work of redeeming the world was done. Here in Hebrews,
the writer says that because of Christ, we have been finished too. Our
forgiveness is complete. As far as our redemption from sin and death and hell
is concerned, "It is finished".

It's
like coming into the kitchen and finding the counter bare and wiped clean.
There's nothing left to do. You can't take the dishes out of the cupboard to
clean them again. What would be the point? It's time to do like Christ did, and
sit down.

That's
the first real take-away from our reading today. In Christ we have been
completed, perfected when it comes to our salvation. Don't EVER think that
there's something left for you to do in order to be forgiven. Just let that
truth settle in your hearts and enjoy the relief, the rest, and the peace of
God's gift to you.

▬

This
picture alone is enough to set our hearts at ease. But the writer to the
Hebrews gives us another thought to solidify this peace. Let me read from verse
15 again.

"15 And the Holy Spirit
also bears witness to us; for after saying,

16 “This
is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord:

I will put my laws on their
hearts,

and
write them on their minds,”

17 then
he adds,

“I will remember their sins and
their lawless deeds no more.”

18 Where
there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin" (Hebrews
10:15-18 ESV).

▬

For
some reason people have a hard time understanding the difference between
"justification" and "sanctification". If there are two
Bible concepts to keep straight, it's these two. They're SO important not to
mix up.

Justification
is God saying, "You sinners are no longer guilty because of the offering
Jesus made in your place".

Sanctification
is different. Sanctification is the change that happens in our lives because we
actually believe God's promise of forgiveness.

Look
at it this way, justification is God's stamping us "not guilty"
because of Christ. Sanctification is God causing good words, thoughts and
actions to grow out of us after we come to faith in Christ.

▬

The
Holy Spirit mentions both in verses 15-18. When the Spirit talks about
putting His laws on our hearts and writing them on our minds, He's talking
about sanctification. This education in God's ways is on-going in the life of a
Christian, from the point of faith to the point of death, the Holy Spirit is
remodeling our hearts from the inside out.

But
this remodeling isn't what saves us.

The
Holy Spirit talks about what saves us when He adds, "I will remember their
sins and their lawless deeds no more" (verse 17). There He's
talking about justification. God simply saying, "Because of Jesus, your
sins are forgotten."

The
Holy Spirit mentions both justification and sanctification, but He doesn't
confuse them. He doesn't mix them up like we sometimes do.

For
the follower of Christ, justification is done, inward sanctification is always
in progress. It's like you've won a ticket to a Caribbean island in some
sweepstakes. Are you ready to go? Well, no. You've got some research to do
about the island where you're going and you've still got to pack - but as far
as the ticket is concerned, that's guaranteed. That is finished.

I
don't have to tell you this, but there are going to be times when we fail to do
what God wants us to do. Times when we stumble badly in our Christian walk, times
when we fall flat our faces in sin. And it's at these times that our hearts
will lie to us. Our sinful, doubting hearts will tell us that we have to get
things straight in our lives before we're forgiven. We have to sin less
tomorrow, or we'll lose the ticket to heaven. We've got to totally eliminate
some particular sin from our lives, otherwise we're not gonna be forgiven.

But
that's not the LORD's message here in Hebrews. The main idea here is that God's
work of saving us, forgiving us in Christ, that's done. There is no offering
for sin left to make. We should never think that there is - Christ has
completed it.

Take
those words to heart,

"I
will remember their sins and their
lawless deeds no more." Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no
longer any offering for sin" (Hebrews 10:17-18 ESV).

▬

We've
only got two worship services remaining before the end of the church year. On
Thursday we've got a special Thanksgiving Day worship service at 10am. And next
Sunday we'll celebrate "Christ the King" Sunday to close the church
year. But today is "Saints Triumphant" Sunday.

Why
are we saints? Because God has declared us holy
through faith in Christ.

Why
are we triumphant? Because there is no longer any
offering for sin left to make. In Christ, our victory is certain.

You
can't do dishes that are already clean.

You
can't be blamed for sins God has purposefully forgotten.

You
can't make a payment on a debt already paid.

So
what's left to do?

Rest,
and be thankful to God. And look forward to the day when you will stand before
the LORD's throne - perfected by one precious sacrifice, the sacrifice of
Christ Jesus our great Savior.

Amen.

The
peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and
minds, in Christ Jesus.

November 11, 2012

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SERMON:

Waiting is hard for human beings to do.We find it annoying to wait for the webpage to load, even when it only takes a few more seconds than usual. When we check out at the grocery store we choose the line carefully, looking to see which is the shortest, or which is moving fastest. Once we're in line we look around, scanning to see if maybe we should jump ship. Maybe that line over there is moving faster.

Perhaps the human race has always been in a hurry. But it seems modern man is even less willing to wait. Even less capable of being patient. Whole industries have been built on the foundation of speeding things up. Why wait to get home, when you can have the internet on your phone. Post office!? Who uses the post office to send letters anymore, we've got instant email. And if that's not fast enough you can just text on your phone.

Why make a bid when you can "buy it now". Why wait for your music to be sent on CD, just download the mp3. Cooking? That takes time, just put something in the microwave.

The argument could be made that all these things are just time savers. They're not really making us impatient, they're just more efficient.

But the fact remains, waiting is hard for human beings to do. Stillness is contrary to our nature. We always have to be listening to something, tinkering with something, playing some game, reading something. Rarely do we make room for quiet contemplation and stillness.

We've all but forgotten the old saying, "Haste makes waste."

But sometimes slowing down and waiting is important, even crucial.

In high school woodshop our teacher taught us to measure twice and cut once. Simple repeated measuring catches many a mistake, and saves a lot of wood from the trash bin. Not to mention saving the carpenter from a lot of frustration.

Or how about the old fashioned advice of "sleeping on it". You know, waiting a day before sending out that email, or that letter, or making that angry call. Often in the morning you find that your words would have been out of place, inappropriate, hurtful, or permanently damaging. A little waiting makes things clearer and saves us from saying things we would have regretted.

There is a reason why they say, "Patience is a virtue".

We human beings tend to get a little too focused on things. We zero in on solving a problem, finishing a job, or winning an argument and lose sight of the bigger picture. Waiting helps us detach from this short-sighted focus and gain greater perspective.

In our sermon reading for today, Moses invites us to wait. To contemplate. To be still and ponder God's eternal nature as compared to man's temporariness. Moses invites us to be still and really consider our sinfulness and God's burning wrath over our sin. Lastly, Moses prays that God would help us to cling to His steadfast love, and give us perspective that will make our days meaningful.

Psalm 90 (ESV)

A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.

1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place

in all generations.

2 Before the mountains were brought forth,

or ever you had formed the earth and the world,

from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

3 You return man to dust

and say, “Return, O children of man!”

4 For a thousand years in your sight

are but as yesterday when it is past,

or as a watch in the night.

5 You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,

like grass that is renewed in the morning:

6 in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;

in the evening it fades and withers.

7 For we are brought to an end by your anger;

by your wrath we are dismayed.

8 You have set our iniquities before you,

our secret sins in the light of your presence.

9 For all our days pass away under your wrath;

we bring our years to an end like a sigh.

10 The years of our life are seventy,

or even by reason of strength eighty;

yet their span is but toil and trouble;

they are soon gone, and we fly away.

11 Who considers the power of your anger,

and your wrath according to the fear of you?

12 So teach us to number our days

that we may get a heart of wisdom.

13 Return, O Lord! How long?

Have pity on your servants!

14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,

that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,

and for as many years as we have seen evil.

16 Let your work be shown to your servants,

and your glorious power to their children.

17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,

and establish the work of our hands upon us;

yes, establish the work of our hands!

▬

Individual human beings have the tendency to think that the world revolves around them. We also tend to overestimate our contribution to the world.

Moses puts things in perspective for us by comparing mankind to God.

Moses says that God gave birth to the mountains. In the Pacific Northwest this imagery isn't lost on us. We've all seen that spot on south I-5 where you come around the curve and Mt. Rainier's hulking mass comes into view. It dominates the landscape, creating it's own clouds as the ocean air passes over it.

If we're adventurous we can hike the trails to Hurricane Ridge out on the Olympic Peninsula and be completely surrounded by massive peaks untamed by man's bulldozers. No shopping malls and endless parking lots there.

If we're really adventurous we can board a plane and seek out the highest peaks of the world. Peaks like K2 and Mt. Everest, that rise so far into the atmosphere that human beings have to take bottled oxygen to reach the top, or risk never coming back.

Next to the grand mountains which God has fashioned, Moses places mankind for comparison. What is man when compared to the mountains of God? Dust. Moses writes,

"You return man to dust and say, 'Return, O children of man!" (v3).

In the beginning God created Man from dust, and to dust we must all one day return.

▬

Moses also speaks of time, in comparing mankind to God. Time doesn't effect God like it effects us. Moses writes,

"For a thousand years in your sight [O God] are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night" (v4).

But as for mankind, we struggle to reach a single century.

▬

Moses compares us to the grass of the field. In the morning the dew nourishes the grass and makes it stand tall and strong. But as the day's sun beats down on the fields, the grass dries out, withers and fades by the time the evening comes.

It's like the old riddle: What goes on four legs in the morning, on two legs at noon, and on three legs in the evening?

Man throughout his life. First crawling, then walking, then walking with a cane.

God on the other hand, is eternal, strong, and unchanging in power and glory.

▬

With these comparisons, and others, Moses uses the first six verse of Psalm 90 to simply describe mankind's frailty and mortality in a general sense. But at verse seven Moses makes it a little more personal. Look at verse seven again. Moses switches from his general description of the human race and draws in his listeners with the word "we". Look at verse seven again.

"For we are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed. You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence" (v7).

"Secret sins" could refer to sins that we somehow thing God doesn't know about. Or it could refer to the sins which we have done, but don't even recognize as sins. Like the writer says in Psalm 19...

"...who can discern their own errors?

Forgive my hidden faults" (Psalm 19:12 NIV).

Whichever way we understand "secret sins" in Psalm 90, the fact remains that God knows all our sins, even if we don't. They are set before His eyes like items on a list. Everything is disclosed to God, nothing can be hidden from His judgment.

Even this shows man's frailty. We don't even know all the wrong we've done.

▬

In addition to not knowing all our sins, we also downplay the consequences of our sins.

Don't we all harbor a little doubt when it comes to the concept of eternal punishment in hell? Don't we all have a bit of hope in the back of our minds that hell really doesn't exist? That surely our sins aren't THAT bad, that God would consign us to eternal suffering apart from Him?

Moses was human just like us. He knew how we think. In verse 11 Moses writes,

"Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you?" (v11).

The obvious answer to this rhetorical question is, "Nobody". Nobody really grasps how great the Holy God's wrath is because of our sins. We, God's own blessed creatures, the crown and caretakers of all that was created, have pushed Him away by our sins. We have scorned His clear and loving commands and chosen our own ways instead.

Mankind says things like, "The woman, YOU put here with me, she made be do it." Man says things like, "I was born this way, YOU made me like this". We take the blessings of God, misuse them in any way we want to, and then we put the blame back on God.

As it says in Proverbs...

"Every way of a man is right in his own eyes,

but the Lord weighs the heart" (Proverbs 21:2 ESV).

"There are those who are clean in their own eyes

but are not washed of their filth" (Proverbs 30:12 ESV).

Like ants on a hill, we scurry around doing what we will, totally oblivious to the greatness of God above, and totally oblivious to the wrath that hangs over our heads because of our sinful choices.

Only when God educates us by His Holy Word do we become wise. Seeing our sin clearly, and the punishment for our sin.

▬

In the middle portion of Psalm 90, Moses makes it clear that the reason life is full of toil and trouble is because of sin. And because of sin we must all one day face death. Moses describes it like this. He writes...

"Four all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh" (v9).

But there is one exception to this rule. One human being who did not end His days with the weak exhale of one final breath. One human being who did not suffer because of His own inborn sin and His own outward choices. Jesus Christ.

When God's Son suffered on a Roman Cross some two thousand years ago, He was not suffering because of God's wrath over His own sins. He had no sins to suffer for. He was suffering for ours.

And when Jesus finally died, His years were not "brought to an end like a sigh". In the Gospel of Matthew we read that before Jesus died He cried out with a loud voice saying, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!" (Luke 23:46 ESV).

The Roman Centurion who was standing by, overseeing this execution was amazed. Of all the deaths he had seen in his many years of campaigning for Rome, no one had died like this. This was no final frail exhale of defeat, this was the cry of a champion.

It was as Jesus had said,

"14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again" (John 10:14-18 ESV).

Because Jesus suffered God's great wrath over your sins and mine, we don't have to. Because of Jesus, our sins stand forgiven. This is what we must cling to as we think of the end of our days, and the great final judgment to come. This is our salvation, the work of God, His gift to us - forgiveness in Christ.

God wants us to be still and ponder His greatness. God wants us to be quiet and think about our sins. But God wants the wave of salvation through Christ to crash in after these thoughts and lift us up on the wave of joy and praise.

Like it says in the book of Lamentations,

"The Lord is good to those who wait for him,

to the soul who seeks him.

It is good that one should wait quietly

for the salvation of the Lord" (Lamentations 3:25-26 ESV).

▬

In the final verses of Psalm 90, Moses prays to the Lord on behalf of his fellow believers. He prays that God would teach us to "number our days", that is, to have perspective on our great need of God in our lives. He prays that God would come to those meditating on their sins, and longing for His grace. And Moses prays that God would make His work known to his servants and their children so that their lives will have meaning and purpose, and that we will be ready for the great day of final judgment, through faith in the promised Savior.

Pastor Mark Tiefel

Pastor Mark S. Tiefel graduated from Immanuel Lutheran College and Seminary in Eau Claire, WI, in May of 2012. He previously served Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church. He was installed at Redemption on April 12, 2015.